Parenthood, or Lack Thereof Archives

It does make sense that I’m childless, I am just getting started with my life, but I decided a long time ago that I don’t want children. Is this normal? A woman not wanting an offspring. How’s that possible? Well, you better believe it, baby. I don’t want kids. Not that I don’t love them or anything. I love children. I feel like a new me when I’m around them. It’s just the responsibility of children that I don’t want. I don’t want to have to take care of another human being. The decision of having children is a huge one, this choice changes your life forever in a big, big way. That’s why I don’t let anyone make the decision for me.

Such a great post by Jessica on breastfeeding supremacists. Breastfeeding is great — and the corporate push for formula-feeding, without any regard for women’s health, is totally and entirely fucked up and unconscionable. But not all women are able to breastfeed, and new moms have a lot to balance. Yes, breastfeeding should be promoted and taught, and there should be resources in hospitals and communities to assist women. But also, pregnant women and new moms are criticized for basically everything they do, from drinking coffee to eating a bite of fish to using the wrong kind of stroller (and women who aren’t white and aren’t wealthy are criticized a whole lot more).

A really great article in the Times about American parents who adopted children and the ethical issues that arise when you realize that the adoption industry sometimes involves coercion and kidnapping:

On September 22nd, “The Daily Show” co-creator Lizz Winstead is bringing her benefit tour for Planned Parenthood to NYC, and she’s bringing Sandra Bernhard and Lisa Lampanelli along with her. It is going to be awesome and hilarious, and friends of Feministe are getting a $10 discount on tickets. So click here for $10 off regular admission prices, go have a laugh, and help Planned Parenthood.

We have been going through this crazy process to try to make a baby—build our family. We are two thirty-something women, who have been together for over 11 years, married for over 5 years, own our own house (or at least the bank does for another 20+ years), live in semi-rural New England with our two cats, have post-graduate degrees, and a huge community of loving friends and family that support us from one mile down the road to the West Coast, across the globe, and many places in between. We are financially stable, have good professions, physically healthy, and emotionally (in general) stable.

The results of Save the Children's survey into childcare costs have been making headlines today. They reveal that middle and lower income parents are being forced into debt by childcare costs and the majority of those in severe poverty are no better off working and paying for childcare than staying at home and relying on benefits.

An article in yesterday’s New York Times tells the story of one anonymous sperm donor whose donation has resulted in at least 150 offspring. Sperm banks, as they are called, are as yet unregulated in the US. That means that it’s up to those institutions to set guidelines and policies, like one’s that might cap the number of times one donor’s sperm can be used. According to the article, it doesn’t appear many sperm banks in the US are self-regulating.

Screw some homework, amiright? (Actually, yeah, screw some homework. I’m all for education, but I hated homework.) Our girls have better things to do, like listening to Justin Bieber and being pretty. That’s what J.C. Penney thinks, anyway.

I think that Penelope Trunk sometimes gives great career advice. I like that she values being lost, being open and honest, and making interesting mistakes on the way to finding an interesting and happy life. And even when I strongly disagree with her she never bores me. She really pisses me off sometimes, but she never bores me. Until last week, when she basically tried to pass off “make it your life’s ambition to find and keep a husband” as groundbreaking life advice for women.

My niece recently joined our family. This little girl is almost 5 months old, and I have the honor of spending a lot of time with her, since I babysit her on a regular basis. Watching her grow and learn every day has been something else. I typically don’t like babies or small children